Right here, right now,
I am gazing at cherry blossoms.
The next-door dog is
rolling and rubbing himself
on the lawn, making us laugh,
reminding me of my own wolf-dog,
how he cracked me up every day,
how, at times, he tried so hard
to talk.
What is wisdom?
What is letting go?
the poet asks.
I ponder.
Now is the time for
long, slow days, sitting
in the sun remembering:
all the losses, all the gifts,
the hellos and the goodbyes.
How joyously we welcomed in
all of those highs,
how we mourned all the lows.
And yet what we were mourning
were the things that had brought us
the most happiness. So were they even
losses in the end?
Perhaps wisdom is
the letting go,
the acceptance of
Being Here Now.
I cast my mind back
through all the years,
plucking out this memory,
and that, like silver-backed salmon
from shining seas.
Truly, I am not counting losses
at all, but only gifts. Old age
is a time when we have let go
of the pain, remembering only
the joy.
Day 23
The italicized lines are from Barbie Joins a 12-Step Program by Denise Duhamel
We may have taken very different paths, and yet we seem to have found many of the same answers. Good one, Sherry...
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
So much truth in your words, Sherry ~~~ a reminder of what we need most as we age ... reflection on the joys, those moments which mattered most. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou are so wise, Sherry. You should teach a session or two on meditation...acceptance of being here however one is wherever one is.
ReplyDelete